Heel base and rubber heel



Feb. 12, 1929., 1,701,872

. O. T. CRAFTS v HEEL BASE AND RUBBER HEEL Filed Nov. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. m2, 1929; 1,701,872 0'. T. CRAFTS HEEL BASE AND RUBBER HEEL Filed Nov. 5, 1927' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 llii'a T7263 Patented Feb. 12, l929d UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.;

o'rIs 'r. caarrs, or memes-m, new mrsnmn.

11mm aa'sE'Am) RUBBER I lpplication filed R ovember Mypresent invention relates to heel bases for use in conjunction with rubber heels,

and includes-a novel combination of heel base and rubber heel, as well as a novel process'of manufact g and assembling same, including also anovel rubber. heel.

- Various methods of manufacturing heel bases without the use of a separate rand have been clearly set forth in my prior issued Patents No.'1,458,524, June 12,1923, and No. 1,528,912,- March 10, 1925, and in carrying out my present invention I pref-' erably'utilize the methods set forth in said patents, and hereby refer to them for furthe! details.

One of the principal functions of a heel base 1 for use in conjunction with a rubber heel is for the external appearance of same,

since aheel base, of leather or'the like, presentsa much neater appearance than a whole rubber heel with no base between the heel and I the heel seat of the .shoe. Therefore, an important object of the present invention is the prdvision of a heel base for attach-' ment to rubber heels, which will have all the advantages incident to theiexternal. appearance thereof, but which will be. more economical to construct, will be more flexible, and will also be more comfortable to the wearer.

The broad principle of the present' invention is the provision of aheeli base composed of-a plurality of U-sha-ped layers, one su'rface of said'base ha formed'therein a 'r'and-like'rim, and themner edge'sof said layers defining an open central and breast portion. Beingthus open, across the breast and central-portion of; the base, it will. be obvious that greater flexibility will. be obtained, which degree'of-flexibility' has not.

been possible-in 'priorheei' due to the fact that at least one of the layers composing said bases was clos ed across the central and breast portions Due to the saving in stock required, a great economy will be effected in the construction of these heel bases, which economy will be furtherincreased by the fact that I may utilize, instcad'of whole,-

expensive, U-shaped lifts or layers, half sections or pieced sectionsof any size, and whether of undistorted material or not. Even though made o fsuch 'small, pieced sections, and of material which would otherwise be considered as wastemy heel base is edge capableof finishes, burnishings,

5, 1927. Serial No, 281,252,

inkings, etc., fully as well as a heel base com.- posed of whole lifts or expensive pieces.

the base thus open, it becomes necessary to compensate for at least the breast portion of the base, to prevent the entrance of water, snow, or other foreign substances at this point, and to. this end I have devised the novel rubberf heel illustrated herein, where- With the central and breast portions of Q in means are provided to occupy the breast portion of the base, or if desired, both the breast and central portions. This means preferably consists in an upraised plug or comfortable pro tuberances on the heel. Bythus having the plug of a height equal to the highest inner edge of base'to be combined therewith, a rubber heel of this type may be made standard, the only variations being those now practiced for size of heels, etc.

'The cost of the addition of this plug to a rubber heel will be far exceeded by the savingin material eflected by my novel heel bases herein described.

heels will be assembled as a unit, before attachment to a shoe, but it will be appreciated that I .am not thus limited, but may attach the parts of the if desired.

11 may also, it desired, construct a I I heel; base composed of a plurality of'superim 'edrands, such as counter rands, or the like. Such a base would of course come under the broad scope of this present invention, comprising as it does a plurality of U-shaped layers having a .randlike rim in one surface of said base. 'However, in

Preferably also, these and rubber unit separately to the shoe a base of this type there would'be an excessive heel-seat-e gaging cup, due to the. relative thinness of; inner; edges of thev rands when built up itg' the desired outside' or finished"-height., Imorder to counteract this excessive cup, I'eonstruet the rubber heel to compensate therefor, as by providing the rubber heel with a convex ass-contacting face,,.theconvexity of the heel being such that it will compensate for the excessive cup in the base, and will also extend into the open central and breast por- ,t'r'ons of the base, thus filling these open portions of the base to the desired extent.

Also, if desired, I may utilize a separate insert, of leather, leatherboard, or the like,

formed with a suitable convexity to perform the above function. It may also be desirable to utilize, in conjunction, with the convex face of the heel, a protruding plug of rubber, either of the same or a diiferent consistencyas the rubber heel itself, this plug.

performing the same function as the plug on the heel first above described. Q

Several variations of the broad principle above described are possible, and some of same are illustrated herein, but I believe that all of these modifications and varia-. tions come within the broad scope of the present invention, and have therefore included the same herein.

The above and further objects of the invention, details of construction, advantages and combinations willbe hereinafter more fully pointed out and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, illustrating preferred embodiments of the present invention, a I

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the heel base of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective of a rubber heel constructed to cooperate with the base of and combined Wlth a rubber heel for attachment to the heel seat of a shoe;

Fi 9 is a perspective view of the rubber heel llustrated in Fig. 8;

Fi 10 is a cross-sectional view of a modificatlon of rubber heel with base attached thereto;

- ther'modification of heel; and

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional viewjo'f a fur- Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of astill furthermodification of rubber heel.

In carrying out my invention, and as shown in the drawings, I construct the heel base 1 of two'layers, 2 and 3. The showing of the two layers is for illustrative purposes 3 is a perspective of the combined only, since I may utilize as many layers as are requisite to complete or build a heel base having the necessary outsideor edge height. One of these layers, here shown as layer 3, has a randlike rim 4 formed therein, of

a concavity suitable for application to the. heel seat of a shoe on which the base isto, be utilized. I have shown, in Fig. 1, the heel base constructed of pieced sections, of un distorted material, the lower layer 2 being united approximately centrally of the rear of the base, and the upper layer 3 having anuninterrupted rear portion, the sections being united at the sides, as clearly shown. However, within the range'of this invention it is'immaterial what number of pieces or sections are utilized, it. being feasible to construct the base 1 of two whole U-shaped pieces, .ifdesired. The inner edges of the U-shaped layers 2 and 3, as will be noted, define an open central and'breast portion 5, which construction represents a marked step forward in this art, prior heel bases havingthe central and breast portions closed by one or more layers of the base. By so form- I ing these heel bases, viz, with open central andbreast portions,I obtain a heel base of great flexibility, and one which will readily adapt itself to the heel seat of the shoe to which it is to be applied. In addition to the I advantages of flexibility, isthe' further advantage of economy, the savings efi'ected by omitting the central and breast portions being considerable.

The heel base 1 maybe manufactured in any desirable way, as for example by the processes set forth in my two prior patents above mentioned, or the layer 3 may have the concavity formed therein before application thereof to the layer 2, I not being limited to any set method ofmanufacture.

It will be readily apparent that the heel base of Fig.1 will have all the external or edge appearance, as well as across a portion of the breast, of-a heel base formed of complete layers, as previously' With the advent of the base above described, however, I find that itis necessary to provide means, preferably "on the rubber heel joined with the base, to com ensate for the space defined by the inner e ges of the U-shaped layers. This means may occupy the breast portion only of the base, or may occupy both the breast portion and the central portion. To this end I have devised a novel rubber heel 6 having thereon; as

shown in Fig. 2, a plug 7, of a. shape U -shaped base. This plug 7 may be ,of the same material as the rest of the rubber heel,

composed of a material of difierent consistency, as shown at 8 in Fig. 5 on the heel.

9. The plug 8 may'consist of crepe rubber or adapted to fill the entire space defined in the.

as shown' in Figs 2, 3 and 4, or'it maybe any material ofdiiierent consistency than the 'main portion of the rubber heel, but

- preferably having greater cushioning ca-f .paeity than said heel. In Figs. 3and 4 I have-illustrated the heel base 1 having its inner edge of less height than the plug 7, the outside-edge 11 being the height debase tothe heel seat 12, the pressure exerted by the heel nailing and other-machines, as well as by the wearer of the shoe, will depress the projecting portion of the plug 7 so that it will not be noticeable or uncomfortable to the wearer. For this reason it will be seen that a plug 7 of greated cushioning capagity than the rest of the 'rubber -heel will be most desirable. i

The plane surface 13 of the rubber heel I 6,-surrounding the plug 7, forms}! seat for the top or plane surface of the base '1, cf-

fecting a neat union between the heel and base.

will provide a seat for the foot of the wear er throughout the entire extent of the heel and base. Should it be desired, however, to

leave the central portion -of the base open,

I provide a heel 14=having a plug 15 thereon, which plug corresponds to the plugs 7 p and 8 so far as the breast portion of the base is concerned, but which plug 15 will notextendinto the central portion of the base,

leaving the same open, and creating a vacuum effect, or air cushion, which, in certain types of shoes will be desirable.

The united heels and bases, as above described, will be possessed of greater flexibility than prior units, because of the open central and breast portions defined by the inner edges of the base layers, and for this reason the units will lend themselves with greater ease to proper attachment to the heel seats of shoes, rendering this attaching operation more simple and efiicieDt because of this flexibility.

The heel base'illustrated in .Fig. 8 will be possessed of all the features and advantages of the base above described, in that it is inexpensive to manufacture,'flexible, and will .have a heel-seat-engaging cup. 'pre-forined therein. This heel base, designated gen-- erally as 17 consists of a lurahty of rands 18.' These rands may be orme'd from counter skivings, box toe skivi'ngs, ormay be the usual erimped rand if desired. A plurality ofthese rands 18, havin' an outside edge 1 9. of'predetermined heig t, are secured to- The plug 7 also, it will be appreciated,

gether, as by adhering, either before or.

after crimping, anda're then compressed or molded to desired: contour, and will have a cup 20 in one .face of the, base of acoucavity suitable for attaehmentto the heel seat 21.

In a base of this .t e, however, due to "the-relative thinnessflo the inneredge 22,

there will be a cup on the surface opposite the cup 20, and in order to compensate for, this extra or excessive cup,I have devised the-novel rubber heel illustrated at 23, forming the base-engaging side of the heel with a convex surface 24. This convex, surface, as shown in Fig. 8, will compensate for the cup in the under surface of the base 17, by providing an even 'seatifor thebase, and the central and breast portions of the convex surface will occupy the central and breast portionsof t-he base, thus assuring an even seatfor'the heel seat of the shoe and the heel of the wearer.

The heel base and heel above briefly de.

scribed are obviously within the range of the present invention, which embraces a U-.

shaped'heel base, and means on the rubber rubber heel, which plug will be of a size and shape to fill or occupy the breast portion of the base, and the central portion also if de sired. Saideplug 27 also is of a height .heel to occupy the breast, or breast and eenequivalent to the greatest inside edge height of any base to be utilized in conjunction with this .form of heel. Crepe rubber I have found to be the most desirable substance for this plug 27,'bu t I am not limited thereto, and may utilize any substanee' of a cushioning nature which will be applicable in this position.

In Fig. 11 I have illustrated a further ,slight modification, whereinthe base '17 is utilized in conjunction with a rubber heel 28, having a convex-member 29 between the rubber-heel 28 and the base 17. This member may be of leatherboard, fibreboard, or

any desirable substance, and may be either affixed to the rubber heel 28, or may be inserted \s a separate member between the, g

p This form of structure} will be found desirable in certain of base and the heel.

shoes, and is obviously included of the present invention. I v g In Fig. 12 is illustrated astill further modification wherein the rubber heel 30 has its-convex portion 31 formed of crepe rubber in the or other material of a greater cushioning capacity and resilience than the heel portion 30. This member 31 is preferably molded with the rubber heel 30 as an integral part thereof, and its function will be the same as the heels above described, except for the greater cushioning effect afi'orded by the entire layer 31 of soft material.

Either of the heels 23, or could be utilized with equal "ease and efiiciency with the heel base 1, if desired, since the pressure of-the heel nailing and other machine operations, and the weight of the wearer would be sufficient to depress the convex surface of the heel which would be beneath the U- shaped layer 2.

I believe that the heel bases above described'are novel, and have'therefore claimed the same broadly in --the present application, as well as the forms of heels illustrated herein, and have also claimed the combined units as a part of the present invention, as well as the methods of manufacturing and assembling same.

' While. I have necessarily described my present invention somewhat in detail, it will be appreciatedthat I may vary the size, shape and arrangement of parts within reasonably wide limits without departing from the spirit of the invention.

My invention is further described and defined in the form of claims as follows: 1'

1. A combined heel base and rubber heel, said base comprising a plurality of U- shaped layers defining open central and breast portions, a rand-like rim on one surface of saidbase, and means on said rubber heel to occupy the breast portion of 'said base, said means comprising a raised portion on said heel of a height as great as the highest inner edge of any base to be utilized therewith. v

2. A combined heel base and rubber heel, said base comprising a plurality .of U- shaped layers defining open central and breast portions,.a rand-like rim on one surface of said base, and means on said rubber heel to occupy the breast portion of said base, said means comprising a raised portion on said heel of greater cushioning capacity than the rest of said heel.

3. A combinedheel base and rubberheel, said base comprising a .plurality' of U- shaped layers defining open central and base, said means comprising a raised portion on said heel of greatercushioning capacity than the rest of said ,heel and of a height as great as the highest inner edge of any base to be utilized therewith.

4. A combined heel base and rubber heel,

said base comprising a plurality of U- shaped rands defining open central and breast portions, a rand-like rim on one surface of said base, and a convex base-engaging surface on said rubber heelcxtending into said open central and breast portions.

5. A combined heel base and rubber heel, said base comprising a plurality of U- shaped randsdefining open central and breast portions, a rand-like rim on one surface of said base, a convex surface on said .heel to compensate for the excessive cup in said base, and means projecting upwardly from said convex surface to occupy the gpen central and breast portions of said ase.

6. A combined heel base and rubber heel, said base comprising a plurality of U- shaped rands defining open central and breast, portions, a rand-like rim on one surface of said base, a convex surface on said heel to compensate for the excessive cup in said base, and means projecting upwardly from said convex surfaceto occupy the open central and breast portions of said base, said means being of greater cushioning capaclity than the tread portion of said rubber ee F 7 A combined heel base and rubber heel, said base comprising a plurality of U.- shaped rands defining open central and breast portions, a rand-like rim on one surface of said base, and a convex base-engaging surface on said rubber heel extending intosaid open central and breast portions, the portion of said rubber heel forming said convex base-engaging surface being of greater cushioning capacity than the tread portion of said rubber heel, whereby pressure on said heel will compress said softer portion to desired shape.

In testimony whereof, name to this specification.

- OTIS T. CRAFTS.

I have signed my I 

